Villains Tavern Dark Carnival

The recently opened, steampunk-themed cocktail bar's literally clowning itself, with a free-to-costumed-peeps Halloween big top featuring firedancers, freak shows, tarot card readers, and costume contests; in addition, there'll be booze specials ($3 Tecate; a shot and a beer for $9) and music on two stages from Americana bands like JT Ross's Speedway and The Dustbowl Revival, an 8-member group that surprisingly doesn't include Steinbeck.